


The Devil You Know

by slashyrogue



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Based on a Tumblr Post, Devil Hannibal, Hellhounds, M/M, Oblivious Will Graham, Season One Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 10:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16891029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashyrogue/pseuds/slashyrogue
Summary: Will finds two dogs wandering in his backyard that he takes in and is surprised when their owner shows up.Hannibal on the other hand just wants his hellhounds back so he can return to Hell where he belongs.But soon he realizes it isn't only the hounds he wants to take back with him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning chapter is also included in my Tumblr AU prompts but I might write more in the future so I'm moving it to its own space.

 

The first time he saw them was late one evening while the other dogs were doing their nightly business. A pair of bedraggled dirty looking things that growled when Will grew closer but seemed to love the leftover steak he had from last night’s dinner. They ran off after the meat was gone and Will didn’t give chase, he knew better.

But they came back several times that first week, closer and closer with each feed, and seven days in he got to touch one of them. The hair was coarse and looked almost burned. Will’s lip curled at the idea of someone hurting these poor things with fire.

He started to call them Moe and Curly, and got his first lick when he took a warm rag to Curly’s bloodied snout.

Two weeks in he got them inside to sleep, fed them both wet food in a separate space so they were comfortable, and closed the door while they slept on a pile of blankets in his unused bedroom.

Three weeks in, Moe and Curly were bathed and brushed revealing perfect white beauties whose eyes looked almost red sometimes but Will was sure it was just a trick of the light.

Four weeks in, he met Doctor Lecter for the first time.

The expensive looking car pulled up Will’s driveway just after dark, the man at the wheel just what Will would’ve expected. He wore a grey and red plaid suit that should’ve looked ridiculous but on him seemed like a second skin. His hair was slicked back to perfection and Will wanted to ruffle it out of place.

He stood on the porch both dogs at his side and the others flanking them.

“Hello, may I help you?”

The way the man looked at him was equal parts annoyed and amused.

“Yes, I do believe so. You see I’ve been looking for my two borzoi wolfhounds, who seem to be right beside you.”

Will put his hands on the collars he’d given Moe and Curly. “You’re the asshole who kept them looking like they’d been burned and tossed in a pile of mud?”

The man took one step forward and both dogs growled so loud Will’s hands felt the vibration. He held out his hand for Will to take. “They can be quite hard to handle at times, I assure you I haven’t been harming them. Doctor Hannibal Lecter.”

Will didn’t move. “I’m not letting you have them.”

“Sir…”

“Get off my lawn before I call the cops.”

Will turned and headed inside the house with his pack. He wasn’t surprised when both Moe and Curly hung back to growl at the closed door. Doctor Lecter stood on the porch with his hands out.

“All I want is my property.”

Will stomped up to the door and put his hands on the dogs’ heads. “They don’t want you.”

Doctor Lecter’s eyes seemed to glow the same as the dogs for a moment and Will felt the air around him grow warmer. “I will return.”

He was gone so fast Will could barely understand, and when he went inside his newest pack members climbed into his bed.

Will wouldn’t let them go with that monster.

He didn’t expect to see Doctor Lecter grace his door again.

Which was true, he didn’t.

Instead the man appeared at his job, arm in arm with one of his colleagues.

“Will, let me introduce you!”

They shook hands and Will felt like his skin was on fire before he pulled away.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You as well.”

Hannibal Lecter became a fixture at every one of his lectures, at crime scenes, and when Jack assigned the good doctor as his personal shrink Will reached his limit.

“You can buy new dogs,” Will mumbled as he looked everywhere but at the man across from him.

“Not like these,” Hannibal said, “They’ve been in my family for quite some time. I…”

“If that’s true then why did they run off? Why…”

Hannibal leaned in and smiled. “I believe that they were drawn to you in some way. I confess I am not a very affectionate or warm type of pet owner.”

Will glared at him. “The burn marks in their hair?”

“I prefer to be around a warm fire, it was not deliberate. Romulus and Remus also do not enjoy my touch, which was why they were so dirtied.”

Will scoffed. “Romulus and Remus? Really?”

“What do you call them?”

“Moe and Curly,” Will whispered, “And I still don’t want to give them back. I just…I don’t trust you.”

Hannibal folded his hands and frowned. “I do not wish to call authorities, Will. They belong to me, I assure you.”

Will’s eyes filled with tears. “Can I just…I’ll bring them by your house tomorrow night. Just to see you with them. If I knew they were comfortable, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard.”

“Yes, I believe that sounds reasonable. I can make us dinner and show you how missed my hounds are.”

Will smiled. “I didn’t mean that we had to…I mean that sounds like a date. I don’t think I could stand you for that long, no offense. I don’t find you that interesting.”

Hannibal leaned back and Will saw his eyes flash red again.

There was no way to pretend he hadn’t.

“You will,” Hannibal said, “I do not have romantic ulterior motives, I assure you. Just a friendly dinner.”

Will gripped the chair tight. “Your eyes.”

“My mother used to call them crimson,” Hannibal teased, “She called me her little devil.”

Will licked his lips. “Are you a devil, Doctor Lecter?”

Hannibal smiled. “I can be, Will. I can be.”


	2. Chapter 2

Will drove the following evening to Hannibal’s home which is way far off from his own. How the dogs ran all the way to Wolf Trap from here he had no idea.

He parked in the driveway, and grabbed the dogs’ leashes before he headed up to the door. They whined and fought a bit along the way but Will didn’t let them win, knocking on the door to wait.

Hannibal’s smile when the door was opened gave Will’s stomach a little flip but he ignored it. “Hello, Will,” he said, then leaned down the dogs, “Hello Rom–”

Curly snapped at his hand when he tried to touch him, his growl deep and deadly.

“Are you sure they’re yours?”

“They’ve been quite spoiled I’m sure in your care, it will just take some time for them to get to know me again.”

Will scoffed. “Sure. I’ll see if they even want to pass the threshold.”

Hannibal moved out of his way and he got the dogs inside, which didn’t improve their moods especially once the door was closed. He took off the leashes and they didn’t leave his side, practically knocking him over in an effort to stay away from Hannibal.

“I assure you—”

“I really think judging by their reactions that I can’t leave them here.”

“Will, be reasonable. Just sit with me at dinner, let them relax and relearn their environment. I have missed their presence more than they or you know.”

Will still doesn’t quite believe him.

They head into the dining room, impeccably decorated in an almost garish way, and Will sat down. The dogs put their heads on his lap, one on each side, while Hannibal walked into what he imagined must be the kitchen.

Will pets over the dogs’ heads one by one as he looks around the room.

Everything is perfectly put and not a single hair on the floor.

No dogs lived here, or at least not these.

When Hannibal comes back Will is more than ready to leave until the food is set before him.

Everything looked amazing.

“Steak au poivre, braised sweet potatoes and oven roasted garlic artichokes paired with a lovely Chateau Cheval Blanc.”

Will let go of the dogs and held out his glass for Hannibal to pour. “What vintage?”

“Forty seven.”

His eyes widened. “You just keep wine that expensive on hand?”

“For special occasions, yes.”

He knew just how expensive the wine was but paid no mind as he took a drink.

“It’s good.”

“I’m pleased.”

Hannibal put his hand on Moe’s head and the dog allowed his touch. The other dog moved around Will’s chair and seemed interested in attention.

“Huh.”

“They just needed to be comfortable.”

Will cut the steak on his plate and took a bite, letting out a sigh. Hannibal sat down across the table and poured himself a glass of wine never looking away from him. “Is it to your liking?”

“More than,” Will confessed, “I haven’t had meat this tender in…ever.”

“I have a very good butcher.”

“You must,” Will laughed, “Or the meat was tenderized to oblivion.”

Hannibal took a bite and Will watched as blood came down his lip. He licked it away and Will’s cheeks reddened. “What is oblivion anyway? Sometimes it’s better to take your time in a meal rather than rush.”

“I guess.”

“Who is looking after the other dogs?”

“Alana. She said I needed a night out even if it was to negotiate dog ownership.”

“Do you and Ms. Bloom have a romantic attachment?”

“No,” Will laughed, “I haven’t had a date in…nevermind.”

Hannibal smiled. “I haven’t had an intimate dinner such as this in quite some time myself. Even if it’s not a date, I am happy to share this meal with you.”

The rest of their meal was a whirlwind of talk that ended with Will having revealed most of his childhood and various secrets he’d never told another soul. He got teary eyed as he told Hannibal of his mother’s abandonment, chewing on the artichoke reminding him of a lost memory. The potatoes brought back his father’s death, alone in the house holding the body till the police came. He drank two glasses of wine and felt light headed by the end.

But happy.

He felt happy.

The dogs seemed to be happy as well to be in their home, ravishing Hannibal with attention the more he gave Will the same. He led Will to a chair by the fireplace holding two small raspberry tartlets and they stared into the flames with the dogs curled up at their feet.

“I had a good time,” Will confessed, taking a bite.

“I as well.”

He took another bite and felt a sudden warmth. “You spoke of your mother,” he said, “When we had a session.”

“Yes. I had a rather close relationship with her despite our short time together.”

“She’s dead?”

“Yes,” Hannibal said, staring into the fire, “My family was taken from me by those who did not want us in the position we held.”

Will frowned. “What do you mean?”

“My family is part of a royal line,” Hannibal explained, “I was once poised to take the reign after my father but our subjects were not so pleased by the way things were. I fled and worry if I return alone I may not be suitable to protect myself.”

“The dogs.”

“Romulus and Remus were quite angry with me for years after I fled. They grew angry and bitter at the loss of their true home,” he explained, looking to Will, “I believe that is why they chose you. Your warmth reminded them of something lost.”

Will blushed. “I’m not really warm. Really the last thing someone would describe as is…”

Hannibal reached across the chair and took Will’s hand. “You feel plenty warm to me.”

Will stared into his eyes and thought for a moment they shone red.

“Are you going to leave?”

“I have to remain your psychiatrist, of course,” Hannibal smiled, “But in time I suppose I will. I hope to have found a suitable person to rule at my side before then.”

Will’s stomach tightened and he let go. “I hope you do too.”

They finished their dessert and Hannibal walked him to the door, ever the gentleman. Will was torn with the idea of leaving the dogs here but they were sound asleep by the fire.

“I think I’ll leave them here.”

Hannibal smiled. “Thank you, Will. Same time tomorrow for our session?”

“Yeah. Goodnight Hannibal.”

He turned to leave and stopped when Hannibal took his hand.

“May I?”

Will nodded.

Hannibal kissed Will’s hand and looked up through his lashes. “Goodnight, Will.”

When Will left his mind was aflame with the evening as a whole.

Just twenty four hours ago he’d hated this man.

Now it felt as if they’d known each other for a lifetime.

He looked back at the house once more and for a moment it seemed to flicker in the wind, like a ghost only he could see.

Perhaps it was just how tired he suddenly was.

Will went to the car and pulled away with a smile.

Even if there was a murder tonight he had to view tomorrow, he felt as if Hannibal’s guidance was no longer a burden.

After all his hatred of shrinks and being psychoanalyzed, maybe the devil you knew was better after all.


End file.
